deep sea.
Lin Ze has always felt that this word has a sense of mystery, but when he actually stood on the bottom of the sea, there was only one idea left in his mind.
cold.
So damn cold.
Water-Repelling Charm held up a thin film of air on the surface of his body, blocking out the sea water, but not the chill from the Mediterranean Sea's depths.
Lin Ze rubbed his arms and glanced at Mr Delacour, who was holding Bubble-Head Charm next to him.
A huge bubble covered his head inside, making him look like a transparent big-headed doll. Coupled with that cold face that had remained unchanged for thousands of years, the sense of dissonance almost overflowed to the surface of the sea.
"You Bubble-Head Charm... are quite unique." Lin Ze gave a thumbs up.
Mr Delacour glanced at him through the bubbles and ignored him.
The two were followed by eight France Auror, four of whom were professional divers from Underwater Operations Team, and the other four were elites of the combat team.
Everyone is wrapped in various colors of Water-Repelling Charm and Bubble-Head Charm.
Their target is less than a hundred meters ahead, the abandoned cruise ship where the Bados laboratory is hidden.
The cruise ship lay diagonally between a reef on the seabed, with most of the hull covered by seaweed and barnacles, and the rusty hull Scabbers was covered with unknown deep-sea creatures.
The name on the ship's side has long been blurred, and only a few incomplete letters can be vaguely discerned.
There were several blasted holes on the side of the ship, the largest of which could fit two carriages side by side.
"This is Bados's laboratory?"
"That should be right." Mr Delacour's voice came out from Bubble-Head Charm, sounding muffled.
"I saw this ship from the mind of the guy named Maurice, Bados who had been operating here for at least six years."
"Six years?" Lin Ze raised his eyebrows.
"Then what is his relationship with Voldemort?"
"Bados was never Death Eaters." Mr Delacour shook his head.
"He is just a weirdo who likes to do research and development. He will work for whoever gives him money."
"Dark Lord gave him funds and experimental materials, and he studied Potions for Dark Lord. If someone offers a higher price tomorrow, he will still work hard for others."
"Pure villain." Lin Ze commented.
"More troublesome than villains, villains at least have a standing."
The eight Aurors have dispersed around the cruise ship according to the predetermined plan. Each person used a wand to light up a ball of fluorescent light. The faint blue light spots flickered in the dark deep sea, like a group of deep-sea fireflies.
Mr Delacour made a gesture to Lin Ze, and the two of them swam toward the largest gap on the side of the ship, one after the other.
When passing through the gap, an unknown deep-sea fish swam slowly in front of Lin Ze, glanced at him with its dead fish eyes, then flicked its tail and disappeared into the darkness.
The chimney is the entrance to the ship. With the joint efforts of eight Auror, several people broke the protective spell at the entrance.
Lin Ze grasped the wand in his hand and got into the interior of the cruise ship from the chimney.
The interior of the cruise ship was transformed beyond recognition.
The original corridor was opened and widened, and the cabins on both sides were transformed into laboratories. Each laboratory was equipped with heavy iron doors with palm-sized observation windows.
There was a rush of footsteps in the corridor.
Three wizards in dark cloaks rushed out from around the corner.
They obviously didn't expect anyone other than themselves to appear in the ship, so the three of them were obviously stunned for a moment.
But before the three of them could react, they were hit by seven or eight Stunning Spell at the same time.
The three wizards didn't even have time to scream, before they collapsed on the ground.
Yeah
Slept peacefully.
"Tied." Mr Delacour continued walking forward without looking back.
Next is the second deck, the third deck, and then the bottom cargo hold.
The resistance encountered was pitiful.
There were a dozen of Bados's men, and most of them dropped their wands and raised their hands to surrender as soon as they saw Auror. The remaining few who resisted could not survive two rounds of volleys.
Lin Ze was muttering in his mind as he walked.
It went so smoothly.
A hacker Potions Master who has been able to run a secret laboratory for six years under the nose of French Ministry of Magic, what is the security force under his command?
That's it?
He quietly tightened his grip on the wand.
The lower cargo hold was transformed into a huge open space.
Several rows of iron cages were stacked against the wall. Animals of various shapes were locked in the cages. Some were huddled in the corner and shivering, and some had made no sound.
The innermost row of cages obviously contain experimental subjects that have been captured recently. Some of them still retain some human characteristics. One of the women's face is not completely Transfiguration, half of her face is human, and the other half has turned into some kind of reptile.
There was no look in her eyes, she was just staring blankly at a certain point above the cage, her mouth opened and closed as if she was mumbling something, but she couldn't make any sound.
Mr Delacour just glanced at it, and then he raised his hand to signal Auror to move the cage away.
"Send all these experimental subjects to St. Marseille Hospital."
"Yes."
"Pack up all the information here and take it away. Not a single piece of paper is missing."
"Yes."
Lin Ze was watching from the side as Mr Delacour directed the scene in an orderly manner, and a strange feeling suddenly came over him.
Everything was clearly under control, but he just felt like something was wrong.
"Wrong."
Lin Ze grabbed Auror who was about to walk forward and pulled him back a step.
"What's wrong?" Auror was pulled almost to the point of losing his balance, with a puzzled look on his face.
"It went so well." Lin Ze lowered his voice.
"Bados is a black Potions Master. After staying in this place for six years, the security force turned out to be only a dozen rubbish? Just a few Stunning Spell and they were all taken down?"
Auror was stunned for a moment, thinking about it, and then a trace of uneasiness appeared on his face.
Lin Ze ignored him and walked quickly to Mr Delacour.
Mr Delacour was at the command site, and when he saw Lin Ze's expression, he frowned slightly.
"Is there a problem?"
"Don't you think it went too well?" Lin Ze lowered his voice.
Mr Delacour was about to speak when a muffled sound suddenly came from an iron door in the deepest part of the cargo hold.
Bang.
Everyone's wands are pointing in that direction at the same time.
The iron door slowly opened, and the door shaft made a harsh creaking sound.
The room behind the door is very spacious and looks like a converted banquet hall.
The walls are covered with various Potions formulas and experimental drawings, and several long tables are filled with glassware and crucibles.
In the center of the room, a man wearing stained robes was squatting on the ground.
His back was to the door, his shoulders shaking, as if he was crying.
Lin Ze and Mr Delacour looked at each other, then took two steps forward with their wands in hand.
"Hugo·Bados?"
The man squatting on the ground trembled when he heard someone calling his name, and then slowly turned around.
His appearance exactly matched the previous descriptions of Dupont and Fenwick. He was in his fifties, bald, and the scar on his neck from the base of his ears to his Adam's apple was particularly dazzling under the dim light.
But at this moment, his face was full of tears, his eyes were red and swollen, his nose was smeared with tears, and he looked as embarrassed as possible.
"You..." Bados spoke with a trembling voice.
"Can you please catch me quickly? I'm so scared... wuwuwu..."
Lin Ze:"..."
Mr Delacour:"..."
France Auror:"..."
The iron cage in Auror's hand accidentally hit the door frame, making a clanging sound, and received a sharp look from the squad leader next to him.
"Can you please catch me quickly? I'm really scared. I'm too scared. I don't want to stay here anymore..."
Lin Ze was stunned for a while, then turned to look at Mr Delacour.
Mr Delacour obviously didn't recover from the scene in front of him.
"You... are Hugo·Bados?"
"It's me." Bados wiped his nose with the back of his hand, raised his head, and looked at Mr Delacour with his bloodshot eyes.
"You are Auror, right? You are finally here. I have been waiting for you for a long, long time, woo woo woo..."
"Are you waiting for us?" Mr Delacour's brows furrowed even more.
"Someone is trying to kill me!" Bados suddenly howled, his voice high-pitched and trembling, as if someone had strangled his throat.
"They want to silence me! I'm scared! I don't want to die! I... I can't sleep every night. As soon as I close my eyes, I see them waving at me. I... wuwuwu..."
"Don't cry yet..." Lin Ze stretched out his hand to stop Bados from continuing to cry, and squatted down to look at him levelly.
But the Bados in front of me continued to cry regardless.
He just continued to shake his shoulders, getting bigger and bigger, and his whole body was shaking violently.
"Hey, you..." Auror standing next to him was about to speak.
Bados suddenly raised his head, frightening the Auror to take a step back while pointing the wand firmly at Bados.
But...
Bados's face is melting.
The skin on his forehead flowed down like a wax figure baked by fire, revealing the pale skin underneath.
The facial features were like dough kneaded by an invisible hand, collapsing, reorganizing, and Transfiguration, making a scalp-numbing gurgling sound.
The bald head grew thick brown curly hair at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"What a fool." Lin Ze cursed in Chinese.
Auror who were surrounding him subconsciously took a step back, and all their wands pointed at the person who was changing.
After a few seconds, that "Bados" completely transformed into a different person.
a woman.
He looked to be in his early twenties, with curly brown hair hanging messily on his shoulders, and the skin on his face was so pale that it looked like he hadn't been exposed to the sun for a long time.
Her eyes were empty and lifeless, her pupils were dilated, and her mouth opened and closed as if she was saying something, but no sound came out.
The four Auror who were escorting him looked at each other in confusion.
"This is...Polyjuice Potion?" a Auror asked in a low voice.
"What about the real Bados?"
No one answered.
A strange sound suddenly came from the woman's mouth, as if someone had turned the knob of the radio to a non-existent channel. It was intermittent and mixed with harsh noises.
"... everyone... is dead... he's going... to put this place..."
Her voice suddenly became extremely clear, like an old-fashioned radio suddenly tuned to the right channel, speaking in a tone without any emotion.
"Clean up... this place..."
Then she laughed.
That smile made her young face instantly become distorted and terrifying.
A chill ran up Lin Ze's spine, making his scalp numb.
"Everyone--"
Lin Ze almost shouted, "Quickly retreat! Now!"